The CEO of Custodia Bank, Caitlin Long, has slammed regulators and lawmakers in Washington D.C. for their “misguided crackdown” on the crypto sector and ignoring her warnings of major “fraud” allegedly conducted by now-bankrupted entities.
An engem 17. Februar Blog post titled, Shame On Washington, DC For Shooting A Messenger Who Warned of Crypto Debacle, Long tore into the government for its approach to crypto regulation, failing to protect investors and alienating good actors in the space:
"De falsche Rackdown vu Washington wäert nëmme Risiken an d'Schatten drécken, a léisst d'Reglementer Whack-a-Mole spillen well d'Risiken kontinuéierlech op onerwaarte Plazen optrieden."
Long stressed that with her digital asset custody firm, she’s “been calling out the worst of crypto while trying to build a lawful, compliant alternative that relegates scams to the trash heap. But […] most of today’s policymakers seem intent on killing the high-integrity innovators.”
The Custodia Bank CEO claimed that her efforts to work with government agencies were ultimately thrown back in her face as she recounted the spate of negative run-ins her firm has had of late.
Her sentiments echo that of figures such as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who has suggested on multiple occasions that agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have reacted frostily to his firm’s efforts to maintain a dialogue in good faith.
Earlier this month, Armstrong also criticized the lack of regulatory clarity in the U.S. and what appears to be a “regulation by enforcement” approach following the SEC’s move to shut down Kraken’s staking services Feb. 9.
“Today’s regulators and lawmakers in Washington are no doubt embarrassed that they failed to stop the criminals of crypto. DC is demanding scalps,” Long wrote in the blog post, adding that:
“Calls for a crackdown today are coming from many of the same policymakers who were charmed by the fraudsters. In a 180-degree turn, they’re now throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
Unheeded warnings
Over on Twitter, Long also suggested that well before the implosion of several crypto firms in 2022, she and many others had tried to warn Washington and “help law enforcement stop” major fraud, but to no avail.
Verbonnen: SEC vs Kraken: Eng eemoleg oder Ouverture Salvo an engem Attentat op Krypto?
Long publicly disclosed for the first time that she had “handed over evidence to law enforcement of probable crimes” committed by an unnamed crypto firm “months before that company imploded and stuck its millions of customers with losses.”
1/ ET ASS ZÄIT FIR MÉI E puer Saachen ze weisen. Ech hu just e Post publizéiert "Scham op Washington, DC Fir e Messenger ze schéissen, dee gewarnt huet # Krypto Debacle." Link zum Post ass hei:https://t.co/yTWWrEk3Os pic.twitter.com/rbo21DzOv3
— Caitlin Long ⚡️ (@CaitlinLong_) Februar 17, 2023
Kraken co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell responded to Long’s Twitter thread and corroborated her statements by noting that: “I can’t tell you how infuriating it is to have pointed out massive red flags and obviously illegal activity to regulators only to have them ignore the issues for years.”
Ech kann Iech net soen wéi rosen et ass massiv rout Fändelen an offensichtlech illegal Aktivitéit un d'Reglementer opzeweisen ze hunn nëmmen fir datt se d'Problemer fir Joer ignoréieren. "Si sinn Offshore. Et ass komplizéiert. Mir kucken jidderengem." FIR JOER. Dann als hir Beispill benotzt ginn. https://t.co/YHdNazM2UE
- Jesse Powell (@jespow) Februar 18, 2023
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/custodia-bank-ceo-slams-washington-s-misguided-crackdown-on-crypto